Doctor Who Re-Watch: State of Decay is the Vampire story we need
By James Aggas
The Fourth Doctor and Romana face Vampires in the second story of E-Space trilogy. And yes, they are actual Vampires in this classic Doctor Who serial.
It’s not surprising to know that Terrence Dicks had been wanting to write State of Decay for a long time before it was finally made for Tom Baker’s final season of Doctor Who. Despite being set in what’s supposed to be a completely different universe, there really isn’t much in the story that indicates that.
In fact, the story feels like a great throwback to Tom Baker’s first three seasons, as produced by Philip Hinchcliffe and script edited by Robert Holmes. There’s a gloriously Gothic sense of style to the whole serial, with more than a few nods to classic Hammer horror films. There is an element of science-fiction, but just that, with a far greater emphasis on horror.
This last part I was initially surprised by, as Christopher H. Bidmead wanted a much stronger emphasis on genuine science-fiction during his era as script editor. Apparently, as a behind the scenes feature revealed, he had asked for Terrence Dicks to heavily re-write it.
However, upon seeing the new draft with far more focus on science than on horror, director Peter Moffatt insisted that the previous draft was used for the story, instead. I’m glad he did, as State of Decay is a rather strong Doctor Who serial, particularly since it’s a very straight Vampire story, with not a single fish in sight.
Zargo, Camilla and Aukon are three gloriously evil villains in this story.
(Photo credit: Doctor Who/BBC.
Image obtained from: official Doctor Who website.)
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Three strong villains
We also get three great characters with the villains of the piece: Zargo, Camilla and Aukon, the three who rule the village, and indeed, the whole planet. There are no shades of grey with these monsters. They’re not tragic characters who take lives just to survive.
No, these are three people who control the people with an iron fist and have even made knowledge illegal. And they’re very keen to suck the life out of every single world. I must admit, it’s fantastic to have three villains that are so ruthless and far beyond redemption. (It also makes their incredibly disgusting deaths that much more satisfying to watch.)
William Lindsay, Rachel Davies and Emrys James clearly had a lot of fun playing these three great characters. Again, there’s not a great deal of subtlety, but then again, you don’t need it with villains as gloriously evil as these. They don’t perform them incredibly over the top, but they play it just right to make them truly memorable Doctor Who villains.
State of Decay is something very different from Tom Baker’s final season, and feels like a real throwback to his earliest seasons. It’s also quite possibly the strongest story of Season Eighteen. A really fun and thrilling watch, and it’s exactly the Doctor Who Vampire pastiche we need.
Next. Re-Watch: Full Circle is a strong start to the E-Space trilogy. dark
Are you a fan of State of Decay? Should we have more Vampire stories in Doctor Who? Let us know in the comments below.